Further twists were to follow though, with the world no 1 having his visa revoked by border force officials after landing in Melbourne Airport, and after hours of interrogation, it was confirmed he would have his visa revoked.
However, his legal team managed to delay plans to have him deported by appealing the decision, and after Djokovic spent five nights in a Government detention hotel in Carlton, Victoria, on Monday a judge ruled in his favour.
That’s proved far from the end of the matter though, with allegations emerging that Djokovic, who was granted an exemption on the basis he tested positive for Covid on December 16, had flaunted isolation rules afterwards.
He was also accused of providing false information on his immigration forms, and has since released a statement explaining the discrepancies – blaming his agent for the visa error.
JUST IN: Novak Djokovic news LIVE: Serb may face five years in prison, agent blamed for visa error
He told A Bola: “I respect that he fights for what he believes and I can be empathetic with what he is going through in Australia.
“But it’s a bit selfish from him to arrive here as the only player unvaccinated. It’s tough for us players to accept that.
“Many players, not in my case, didn’t want to get vaccinated and were forced to do it to be able to play tournaments. He is finding a way around those rules.”
Whether Djokovic is able to remain in Australia for the tournament depends on immigration minister Alex Hawke, who still retains the power to revoke his visa for a second time.